A shocking racial hate crime has killed a man who lived his life trying to help others, but the details in the case mean there will be no riots, and you probably won’t hear his name mentioned on the national news.

A 55-year-old journalist and volunteer first responder was attacked from behind before being dragged into a parking lot in New Jersey. Then, his assailant stole the man’s car and used it to drive over the victim’s head, leaving him gravely injured.

The assault occurred in May, but the victim remained on life support until his death on Thursday. To make the horrific attack even worse, authorities believe the journalist was targeted and ultimately killed because of his skin color.

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Why isn’t this the top story on every cable news channel? Because the victim is Jerry Wolkowitz, and he was apparently attacked by a black man based on racial hatred.

“Jerry Wolkowitz, a longtime EMT and journalist, has died nearly six months after a brutal, allegedly racially motivated beating,” reported the Asbury Park Press, a news outlet that also published much of the freelance reporter’s photographs over the years.

“Wolkowitz, described as an ‘innocent soul’ by younger medics he took under his wing, was walking near his Harding Road apartment on the morning of May 1 when authorities believe 26-year-old Jamil S. Hubbard of Sayreville beat him and dragged him into a parking lot,” the newspaper continued.

After police tracked down and arrested Hubbard, a repeat criminal who openly admitted to running over the older man because of race.

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“(Hubbard) explained that he chose him because he was a white man,” revealed prosecutor Keri-Leigh Schaefer during a court hearing.

“The allegations are of a horrific crime,” Judge James J. McGann said during the hearing. “The defendant, according to police, approached a total stranger and started beating him.”

Would this crime receive more attention if the journalist was black and the attacker was white?

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The victim’s family reached out to the community for help, and shared its love for the victim on a GoFundMe page set up to soften the burden of when Wolkowitz was still on life support.

“Jerry is a reporter, a writer, a first aid volunteer, a dedicated worker, a wonderful friend, and a devoted family man with a loving fiance,” the page explained.

“He is kind-hearted and highly devoted to his family and friends. He … has a great sense of humor, and is always willing to lend a helping hand to anyone in need,” the family’s heartfelt message continued.

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It’s almost certain that if the roles were reversed in this horrendous racially-motivated crime, there would be protests and national news coverage.

Benjamin Arie is an independent journalist and writer. He has personally covered everything ranging from local crime to the U.S. president as a reporter in Michigan, before focusing on national politics. Ben frequently travels to Latin America and has spent years living in Mexico.
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Benjamin Arie has been a political junkie since the hotly contested 2000 election. He attended Florida State University and informally majored in women’s studies, primarily the sorority on the other side of his dorm.
After giving rickshaw driving and nightclub management a go, Ben settled on journalism after realizing he could get paid to rant. He cut his teeth on car accidents and house fires as a small-town reporter in Michigan before becoming a full-time political writer.
Benjamin had a front row seat to the 2016 campaign circus while covering angry protesters and Donald Trump’s nomination at the GOP convention in Cleveland, which cemented his view that half of the country is insane. He has lived as an expat in Latin America, and enjoys piloting gliders and scuba diving when he can get away from the grind.